1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gazebo structure made from premanufactured components which can conveniently and easily be assembled into the finished structure, and also to a method of accomplishing the same.
2. Background Art
Gazebo structures are often provided as auxiliary structures for a variety of recreational, quasi-recreational, and/or aesthetic reasons. Quite commonly, the plan form of such a gazebo is that of a regular polygon, having more than four sides, such as a hexagon or an octagon. The configuration of the roof is generally made up of a plurality of triangular shapes, with each triangular shape extending from a peripheral base upwardly and inwardly toward a center apex point.
Because of the geometry of the common gazebo structure, the problems of cutting or forming the various components and then joining them together are somewhat more complex then, for example, building a structure where most of the components join to one another at right angles. Accordingly, there exists a need to provide a gazebo structure whichi is aesthetically pleasing, but which can be conveniently and easily erected.
A search of the U.S. patent literature has disclosed a number of patents, these being the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,814--Stuhmer shows a prefabricated gazebo where there are six roof sections, each having a kite-shaped configuration. The roof sections meet at a center location, and the inside or center portion of each roof section is made as a circularly curved portion, with the several portions being connected together to form a circle and joining to a center circular or cylindrical member. The side edges of the kite-shaped roof sections are first loosely bolted together, and then joined to the center member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,192,107--Wickstrom shows what is called a "Conical Roof Structure", where there are a plurality of substantially identical metal roof sections having U-shaped ribs 38 along each edge portion. The rib from one section fits over an adjacent rib of the next section, and a stiffener is connected to the two overlapping ribs. The upper inner end portions of each roof section join at a center location. There is provided a circular center piece having a downwardly and outwardly extending frusto-conical skirt to which the roof member is joined.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,329--Walters shows a polygonal building construction where there is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 a center mounting ring that has downwardly and outwardly extending plates to support rafters that extend radially outwardly and downwardly from the center location.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,101--Cole shows in FIG. 5 a portion of the roof structure where there is a center hexagonally shaped member, to which support beams 55 are connected. Parallel spaced brackets or plates 49 are welded to the hexagonal member to form outwardly facing slots to receive the inner ends of the beams 55.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,325--Bartoli shows a building structure having a central support column 35 and a roof-to-column connector 39. There are rafter members 63 having inner ends secured to the column connector 39.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,601,428--Guilb shows a joist hanger which has a pair of mounting flanges and a hanging portion having a U-shaped configuration to receive the end of the joist.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,423,898--Tracy et al. shows a rafter securing device in which a member defining a U-shaped slot is used to support the rafter.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,990,590--Graveley shows a roof rafter saddle tie, where there is a U-shaped member to receive the end of the rafter.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,246,281--Knack shows a silo where the roof has upwardly and inwardly extending rafters that join at a center location. There is a center member defining a recess to receive the inner ends of the rafters 33.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,116,244--Conner shows a circular metal roof where the inner ends of the angle bars can be connected to a center member in a manner to eliminate as much as possible fastening members such as bolts or rivets. This center member forms a series of radial sockets 11 defined by a lower skirt 8 and an upper skirt 11 having a somewhat corrugated configuration.